chiang mai thailand
Chiang Mai is in a valley near the border with Myanmar (Burma) and Laos is very close to the famous Golden Triangle. Many ethnic tribes had crossed the border of Thailand and settled into the mountains there. Until now, most of them are farmers of opium, but now the Thai government has provided an alternative tribe of plants and how to make a living. There are six major ethnic tribes in northern Thailand and they all wear different colors and different and jewelry. Each tribe specializes in specific crafts such as wood carving, weaving, silver, embroidery, …
chiang mai thailand
We spent four days in the middle of the city’s first shopping and sightseeing. We visited temples, villages, gardens, waterfalls and ride elephants. One day, we went to a cave, six miles, where we hired a guide and crawl though a small opening to follow guides with kerosene lanterns. We see incredible rock formations, stalagmites and stalactites. We saw a monkey show, elephant show, and shows a snake. We visit the orchid gardens, butterfly gardens and the Royal family summer palace gardens. (See family photo at the park)
chiang mai thailand
The next three days, we backpacked with six others and two guides to the mountains to visit the hill tribes. We decided that if we would do this, we’ll do it right. There are two kinds of treks, tours and treks non-tourist travel. We chose for a second! We carry all our own gear for two nights / three days and went to the cold mountains to experience the extraordinary! We visited six of the hill tribe village and slept in their cabin! Besides wildlife, the only sign of life we see is the village for three days, elephants and cows grazing the hillsides!
chiang mai thailand
The first day we went for about an hour from the city and stopped at a local market we shopped for all of the provisions of our (quite the experience!). We drove for over two hours, down from the truck, and began to climb. Soon the power cord is no longer visible and all the sights and sounds of civilization are gone! We stopped at a Hmong village and we were invited in the chief cabin. Mud floors, bamboo walls and roof of American kitchen-sized leaves are placed every 22 people in the family! All practice animist hill tribes-they believe in the spirits of the earth and various other religions such as Buddhism and Christianity mixed in. All the houses have been changed to respect the spirit though. We passed through and stopped at many villages along the way we and some have solar panels for electricity.
chiang mai thailand
We arrived in our village where we will spend the night. (See picture below) Many of the villagers came running to greet us and they wanted to show us the goods they are handmade. Village children are very happy with the knick-knacks and cookies we pass out. Everyone was very friendly!
chiang mai thailand
There are huts about two dozen family and “guest cottage” where we sleep. hut on stilts, big bamboo poles running along the floor, and walls, woven mats on the floor and wrap the walls. The roof is a roof of straw and leaves the door wide open. There are twelve “mattress” (I use this term very loosely!) Lie in pairs under a mosquito net. We each bring a sleeping bag and when we opened it, we find them “indoor” warm sleeping bag and not at all! We each have two hand woven wool blankets. Soon after sunset, the temperature dropped from 80 degrees to about 40! It was New Year’s Eve! We spent nights together gathered around an open campfire telling stories and eating wonderful food we cook for our guide! The villagers sell Beer! I think modern crime can be found even five hours into the jungle! Wish we had fireworks the stars are incredible! I do not think any of us had ever seen so much! We went to bed early to anticipate the increase in weight the next day. We were awakened at 3:30 by the village rooster! Nothing amused at the time and we tossed and turned until 6:00 when our forces and our guide to freezing cold morning where we huddled around the fire and eat breakfast. The village was waking up to the task of collecting the fruit, feeding chickens and pigs, rice milling, cooking, fetching water, and fire building.
chiang mai thailand
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